Security Levels

On 18 February 1952, during a
violent winter gale the tanker SS Pendleton broke in two in the
Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Cod, MA. Shortly thereafter,
Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat No. CG-36500 with BM1 Bernard C. Webber as
officer-in-charge and EN2 (P) Andrew J. Fitzgerald, SN Richard P. Livesey
and SN Ervin E. Maske as crewmembers departed the Lifeboat Station to render
assistance. The seas were extremely high and rough, with northwest
winds between forty and fifty miles per hour. Visibility was poor due
to darkness and intermittent snow squalls. After crossing the
hazardous Chatham bar, the CG-36500 rounded up to the stern section
of the SS Pendleton, where thirty-three survivors were waiting to be
rescued. Numerous passes were necessary to take off all the survivors.
There was no light except a spotlight on the CG-36500 and, as the SS Pendleton
rolled, the CG-36500 darted in and out, sometimes under the bilge
keel, taking off a few men each time. Only one man was lost during the
rescue operations. Shortly after the last man was taken aboard, and
the CG-36500 had gotten underway the stern section of the SS Pendleton
capsized. The CG-36500 with crew and thirty-two survivors returned
safely to the Chatham Fish Pier.